Snagging a big-time superhero role like Batman in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman (or whatever this film will ultimately be called) should be the feather in any actor’s hat, but when it came to the news that Ben Affleck had been chosen to continue the Bat-legacy in Zack Snyder’s next film, the masses didn’t welcome him with open arms. Perhaps it was backlash to Snyder’s first Superman film, or disdain that anyone would take on the Bat so soon after Christian Bale, or even a bit of response to Affleck’s other superhero properties, but people weren’t overwhelming overjoyed about the news – and Affleck knows that.

Affleck recently sat down with Playboy to talk about a whole mess of things, including Bat-lash, and the actor seems relatively in tune (and okay!) with Internet chatter. In fact, he was pre-warned by Warner Bros., as he shares with the outlet: “Warner Bros. told me, ‘You should know what you’re getting into.’ They showed me the reactions to other folks who had been cast in these roles. They said this is how it tends to play out initially.” The actor also concedes, “I understand I’m at a disadvantage with the Internet.”

The actor admits that when he was first asked to take the role, he declined. “When they asked if I would be Batman, I told them I didn’t see myself in the role and I was going to have to beg off,” Affleck told Playboy. “They said I’d fit well into how they were going to approach the character and asked me to look at what the writer-director, Zack Snyder, was doing. The stuff was incredible.”

That “incredible stuff” includes some details that shouldn’t exactly surprise – Affleck says it is “a unique take on Batman that was still consistent with the mythology” that will “redefine him in a way that doesn’t compete with the Bale and Chris Nolan Batman but still exists within the Batman canon. It will be an older and wiser version, particularly as he relates to Henry Cavill’s Superman character.”

Just how good does Affleck feel about the material? He promises, “When people see it, it will make more sense than it does now or even than it did to me initially.” So stick that in your totally metaphorical Internet pipe and smoke it…or at least let’s all wait until we see something of the actual film to judge.

Kate Erbland is a staff writer for movie news and reviews at GeekNation. Her work can also be found at Film School Rejects, ScreenCrush, Vanity Fair, The Dissolve, Cosmopolitan, Bustle, amNewYork, New York Daily News, Dame Magazine, Mental Floss, Film.com, MSN Movies, and Boxoffice Magazine. She lives in New York City with two cats, two turtles, one boyfriend, and a frightening number of sensible canvas totes.